Armenia

5% of girls in Armenia are married before the age of 18.

Statistical information in Armenia is very limited as many child marriages are not officially registered. Sometimes religious weddings (harsaniq) take place and are then officially registered once a girl reaches the legal age for marriage.

Child marriage predominantly occurs within the Yezidi community or in marzes (regions) where minority ethnic groups live. Within the Yezidi community, it is common for girls to marry between the ages of 13-14 and for boys between the ages of 17-20. Often, marriages are arranged by parents.

Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that women and girls are somehow inferior to men and boys.

In Armenia, child marriage is also driven by:

Ethnicity: According to UNFPA, child marriage is more common among minority ethnic groups, particularly the Yezidis, primarily due to traditional attitudes regarding the role of women in society and a lack of value placed on education. Some Yezidi girls who marry after the age of 14 are reportedly considered “late and not worthy of respect”.

Poverty: Lack of education and economic opportunities in rural areas following the country’s independence have been found to drive child marriage in Armenia.

Family honour: Some young couples who fall in love are pressured to marry in order to avoid scandals associated with pre-marital sex.

Adolescent pregnancy: Traditionally, Yezidi families are large and girls are expected to marry young to have as many children as possible.

Gender inequality: Armenia has one of the highest rates of gender-biased sex selection in the world. In 2018, 424 girls went missing. It is estimated that over the last 7 years, 4,000 girls would have been born but were not due to the societal preference for boys.

Armenia has committed to eliminate child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals. The government submitted a 2020 Voluntary National Review at the 2020 High Level Political Forum but there was no mention of child marriage.

Armenia co-sponsored the 2013 Human Rights Council procedural resolution on child, early and forced marriage and the 2019 resolution on the consequences of child marriage. In 2014, Armenia also signed a joint statement at the Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

Armenia co-sponsored the 2013, 2014 and 2016 UN General Assembly resolutions on child, early and forced marriage.

Armenia acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1993, which sets a minimum age of marriage of 18. The principles of the CRC were later reinforced in 1996 when the government adopted a Law on Children’s Rights. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was ratified in 1993, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

During Armenia’s 2016 review, the CEDAW Committee expressed concerns about child marriage among Yezidi and Molokan communities, significant school dropout rates among girls from these communities and a lack of data on the correlation between this and child marriage.

During its 2015 Universal Periodic Review, Armenia agreed to examine recommendations to enforce the minimum age of marriage set out in law and to develop awareness-raising programmes on the negative impact of child marriage.

Armenia is a pathfinder country for the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children. Armenia ratified the Istanbul Convention in 2018.

The government adopted the National Plan of Action for Protection of Children’s Rights in 2005 and its main aim was to develop a state policy in order to better protect children’s rights and interests.

Since the National Plan of Action, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in Armenia have established a new National Child Protection Strategy 2017-2021. This national strategy looks to establish a functional child rights monitoring mechanism to address issues affecting children in Armenia.

Article 35 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia enshrines the right to free choice and consent in marriage. The minimum age of marriage for girls was raised from 17 to 18 in April 2013. However, it is possible for someone between the ages of 16-17 to marry with the consent of their parents/legal guardians.

This is further reiterated in the Code of the Republic of Armenia under Article 10. However, exceptions allow individuals to bypass this provision based on cultural, ethnic, and other grounds.